Black Sun: 04/15/21

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse is the start of the Between the Earth and the Sky series. The holy city of Tova is preparing for the winter eclipse. This year is extra special because it coincides with a solar eclipse. Rumor has it, a god will return.

The book has a fantastic opening where a boy is taken by his mother for an initiation except she goes well beyond what he expected. Along with scarring his back she blinds him, thus opening up his body to be a vessel for the returning god.

Then the book spends the next three hundred pages jumping back and forth through time and to various points of view to show all the major players in the upcoming convergence. It's an ambitious attempt at storytelling but I never spent enough time with any particular character to get to know any of them. For me it was a confusing slog through a fascinating world.

The world building is the best part of Black Sun. It takes the pre-Columbian societies of Mexico and blends them with the peoples of the Four Corners area: Diné, Zuni, Hopi, etc. I kept reading for the world building.

Two stars

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